Logitech makes minor adjustments amid accounting probe

Reuters•September 4, 2014

Logitech headquarters are pictured in Morges near Lausanne January 6, 2009. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

ZURICH (Reuters) - Logitech said it would make minor adjustments to past earnings due to erroneously booking inventories, amid an investigation that the company believes it will conclude in coming weeks.

Shares in the Lausanne, Switzerland-based computer accessories maker, which had unnerved investors in May when it delayed results as it came under scrutiny by the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), rose.

On Thursday, Logitech said it would remove some income from the last quarter of 2011 and move it into the first three months of 2012.

"The restatement is not expected to materially impact fiscal years 2013 and 2014," Logitech said in a statement.

The firm said the move would not affect its cash statements in any year.

"We expect that the scrutinized accounting practice will no longer be an issue in a few weeks, with few consequences on reported earnings, in particular not because of any financial penalty," Zuercher Kantonalbank analyst Andreas Mueller said.

He rates the stock at overweight.

On Wednesday, German sportswear maker Puma said it had understated its 2012 pretax profit by at least 10 million euros ($13 million) because of accounting errors.

(This story corrects the headline and first paragraph to reflect that Logitech's accounting probe is not yet concluded, and second paragraph to remove reference to penalty or further investigation.)